heart, were all that were required by the class of men who could afford
to keep such dainty wares. But love, inspired by such attractions as
these and nothing else, is ever fickle as the wind. When health declined
and beauty faded, the fire of passion, misnamed love, died out; and the
hapless wife frequently found herself deserted--if not openly, none the
less shamefully--for a younger rival, whose eye was brighter and whose
cheek more plump. Then shrewd women began to study artifice. Deception
is wrong, without doubt; but before we too severely censure these women,
let us remember how deeply they were wronged, how great their
temptations, how much they had at stake. In order to retain any thing
like a comfortable or respectable position in their husband's houses,
the waning beauties resorted to flattery and to the invention and
skillful use of various articles which would conceal the declension of
beauty or artfully counterfeit it. The ways and means by which
attractiveness of face and figure might be enhanced, preserved, or
simulated, became the subject of serious study--something neither to be
sneered at nor laughed at. The happiness of a life-time often depended
upon it. The sex, taught by a bitter experience, learned that men, as a
rule, were more easily influenced by blandishment and show than by good
sense and genuine worth, and, with a few exceptions, strove somewhat to
better their condition by practicing the lesson so learned. If, in the
long run, women became frivolous, brainless, and heartless, why was it?

There were, however, in all ages, exceptions. Women, yielding to the
God-given yearning after higher and better things than idle frivolities,
and longing just as ardently for love and happiness in their married
homes, sought to work out life's problem differently, and went to work
as rational creatures. Breaking through or over the obstacles which
debarred them from enjoying or making use of the sources of information
open to the opposite sex, they strove to cultivate their minds and store